Two Men Rescued And Two Other Men Missing After Falling Into Keyhole Reservoir

Two men were rescued, while two others may have drowned in icy waters in northeast Wyoming.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office says just after 9pm on Thursday (December 15th), a 911 call came in regarding a male subject who had fallen through the ice while driving his Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) on Keyhole Reservoir, which is about 7 miles northeast of Moorcroft.

The 911 center was on the phone with the male subject who stated that he had made it out of the water and was laying on the ice.  

Pine Haven Fire and EMS service were paged and arrived on scene.  

At approximately the same time three local citizens arrived on scene and drove a UTV onto the ice.  

Witnesses stated that they lost sight of the UTV as it went out across the reservoir.

Rescue crews managed to locate and remove the originating subject from the ice.  

A second individual was also located and rescued.

Information was obtained that the second individual was one of the three individuals on the second UTV and that they had driven into open water. 

The other two male individuals in the UTV were not located.

Both of the males that were rescued were transported by ambulance to Campbell County Memorial Hospital to receive medical treatment.

Due to 40-50 mile per hour gusting wind, snow, poor visibility and frigid temperatures, Search and Rescue missions were suspended at approximately 11:00 PM thursday, for safety reasons, and they resumed on Friday morning.

Crook County Sheriff’s Office ice rescue units entered and walked to the suspected area where the UTV with the remaining two male subjects were last observed heading.  

There was a substantial area of open water in the area, and rescue units were unable to locate any of the missing individuals in the area, but were able to find evidence of a possible entry point where the UTV entered the water.

More equipment and resources have been requested by Crook County Homeland Security to continue the mission.

Beginning Saturday night, low temperatures in the area are forecasted to be near or below zero.